Does the wind systematically energize or damp ocean eddies?

Globally, mesoscale ocean eddies are a key component of the climate system, involved in transport and mixing of heat, carbon and momentum. However, they represent one of the major challenges of climate modelling, as the details of their nonlinear dynamics affect all scales. Recent progress analysing satellite observations of the surface ocean and atmosphere has uncovered energetic interactions between the atmospheric wind stress and ocean eddies that may change our understanding of key processes affecting even large-scale climate. Wind stress acts systematically on ocean eddies and may explain observed asymmetry in the distribution of eddies and details of their lifecycle of growth and decay. These findings provide powerful guidance for climate model development.